Court & Hearings

Before filing a lawsuit, you must decide who to sue. This is not difficult when you want to sue a person, but suing a business can be more complicated.

A defendant The person or organization being sued in a lawsuit can be:

• An individual person,
• A business, or
• A government agency or official.

You can sue more than one defendant in the same lawsuit if your claims against them are based on the same event or set of facts. In some situations, you may need to sue both a business and the individual owner. For example, if a business is a sole proprietorship, the owner may be personally responsible for the business’s debts or actions.

It is important to list the correct legal name of each defendant. If the defendant is named incorrectly, it can delay your case or prevent the defendant from being properly served.

Important: If you are not sure who to sue, talk to a lawyer before filing your case.

Suing a business

If the business is incorporated or registered in Illinois, you must:

• Use the business’s legal name, and
• List the name and address of the business’s registered agent. The person who receives notice of legal actions when a corporation is sued The registered agent is the person who must be served with the lawsuit.

You can find this information by searching the Illinois Secretary of State’s business databases.

If the business is not incorporated, it may be a sole proprietorship or partnership. In that case, you should usually:

• Name the owner(s), and
• Name the business using d/b/a (“doing business as”)
• Example: David Donalds d/b/a Plaza Shop

To find the owner of an unincorporated business, you can check business records, invoices, or the Assumed Name Index at your county clerk’s office.

Next, you need to decide where to file your case and what type of case it is. In Illinois, state trial When the issues of a case are heard in court and decided by a judge or jury courts are called circuit courts. Circuit courts are organized by county, and you must file your case in the correct county.

In general, you will file your case in the county where:

• The person you are suing lives or does business, or
• Where the event that led to the case took place.

There are exceptions to these general rules. For example, cases involving real estate Property consisting of land or buildings like a house or an apartment are usually filed in the county where the property is located.

The proper county where a case should be filed is called venue. Filing in the wrong county may delay your case or result in the case being dismissed Cases dismissed with no further action anticipated. or transferred to another court. If you are unsure which county is correct, talk to a lawyer before filing. Learn about venue and how to determine the correct county for your case.

Within each county, the circuit court may be divided into different divisions based on the type of case. The type of case affects the steps you must follow, the forms you use, and which part of the court or division will handle your case.

If you are filing a civil lawsuit, your case will usually fall into one of these categories:

• Small claims: If you are asking for $10,000 or less in money damages. These cases use simpler forms and procedures. For information about bringing or responding to a small claims case, see Suing someone for $10,000 or less.
• General civil cases: If you are asking for more than $10,000, or if you want the court to order someone to do something or stop doing something. The instructions on this page apply to this type of case.

In most counties, civil lawsuits are filed in the court’s civil or law division. In larger counties, such as Cook County, civil cases may be assigned to specific divisions like the Law Division or Chancery Division, depending on what you are asking the court to do.

Other types of cases follow different rules and are covered in other guides on our site. These include:

• Eviction (landlord and tenant) cases
• Family law cases, such as divorce, parentage, parental responsibilities, or child support
• Probate A court process where a person's property is given out after they die cases, such as estates or guardianship
• Orders of protection

Choosing the wrong type of case or division can delay your case or cause your forms to be rejected. If you are unsure, contact the circuit court clerk or talk to a lawyer before filing.

To start a lawsuit, you must fill out and file a Summons and a Complaint or Petition. The Summons is the form that tells the defendant The person or organization being sued in a lawsuit or respondent A person who has a petition filed against them that you filed a lawsuit and explains how and where they must respond. The Complaint or Petition is the form that explains your claims against the defendant or respondent and what you are asking the court to do.

Complaints must include:

• All of the relevant facts that support the plaintiff's A person or party that starts a lawsuit claims,
• The laws that support the plaintiff's claims, and
• What the plaintiff is asking for.

For more information on what to include in the Complaint or Petition, see our common questions about starting a lawsuit.

If you want a jury trial, A trial decided by a judge and a jury you must file a Jury Request at the same time that you file your Complaint or Petition. If you want a trial When the issues of a case are heard in court and decided by a judge or jury with a judge only, called a bench trial, A trial decided by a judge without a jury do not file the Jury Request form. Learn about the difference between jury and bench trials

Statewide approved forms are available for filing a general civil complaint. These forms include instructions to help you complete them. You can find the forms on the Illinois Supreme Court’s website. 

For instructions on how to complete, file, and serve Giving court documents to someone a Summons, see Serving a Summons.

Note: Some counties require a Civil Cover Sheet A form filed by the plaintiff with the complaint at the start of a lawsuit when you file your case. Illinois does not have a statewide Civil Cover Sheet form, but some counties have their own form online. Contact the circuit court clerk in your county to find out if a Civil Cover Sheet is required and whether a form is available. If your county requires one but does not provide a form, ask the clerk what information must be included before preparing your own.

After you fill out your forms, you must file them with the appropriate circuit court clerk. This is usually the courthouse in the county where the defendant The person or organization being sued in a lawsuit or respondent A person who has a petition filed against them lives or where the problem happened. See step 2 above for more information.

In most counties, you must file your forms electronically (e-file) unless you qualify for an exemption.

When you file your forms, you have to pay a filing fee. Fee charged for filing court documents The amount depends on the court and county. If you cannot afford the filing fee, you can ask the court for a fee waiver.

Once your forms are filed, the clerk will assign your case a case number. A number assigned to a case that is on every paper filed in the case

After you file your case, you must notify the defendant The person or organization being sued in a lawsuit or respondent A person who has a petition filed against them about the lawsuit. You do this by serving them with a Summons and a copy of your Complaint A written statement to start a lawsuit that says what the defendant did or Petition (noun) A written request to a court (verb) To request from a court .

You cannot notify the defendant or respondent yourself. The papers must be delivered by someone else in a way the law allows, such as a sheriff A county officer who can serve people with summons. They can evict someone with a court order. or process server. Someone other than a sheriff who serves a summons Each defendant or respondent must be served. Once service is completed, you must file proof with the court showing that they were notified.

For instructions on how to complete, file, and serve Giving court documents to someone a Summons, see Serving a Summons.